Apple Pulls 'Me So Holy' iPhone Application

By Nathan Eddy |
Posted 2009-05-13

Following the controversy of the infamous iPhone application "Baby
Shaker" in April, for which Apple profusely apologized, comes
another application that brings controversy back to the company. This
week Apple decided to reject "Me So Holy," an application that allows
users to take a photo of someone's face with the iPhone camera and
paste it onto a likeness of Jesus Christ.

On the Website for Me So Holy, developer Benjamin Kahle wrote a blog
post criticizing Apple's decision to reject the application, saying
Apple was "too sensitive" to its perceived users. "[We] are
disappointed that this otherwise creative, freethinking company would
reject such a positive and fun application," the post states. "The
message to developers is that they should think inside the box, rather
than outside it."

Apple's software development kit (SDK) agreement for the iPhone states
in section 3.3.12 that applications must not contain obscene, offensive
or defamatory content or materials of any kind or "content or materials
that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable" by
iPhone or iPod touch users. "According to Apple, 'Me So Holy' contains
objectionable content and is in violation of [the agreement]," Kahle
wrote. An earlier incarnation of the application, Animalizer, which
allows users to put faces on various animals, apparently passed Apple's
test-users can download that application for the App Store.

Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the baby shaker application
and Apple's previous rejection of an application featuring rock band
Nine Inch Nails, Kahle muses whether the rejection of the Me So Holy
application represents a downward spiral of creative content standards.
"Our question is, is religion really to be placed in the same category
as these violent apps?" he asks. "Sex, urine and defecation don't seem
to be off-limits, yet a totally non-violent, religion-based app is."

Apple has a history of strong control over the distribution of
applications: In 2008, the company blocked the Podcaster, a program
that let users circumvent iTunes to download podcasts, as well as
NetShare, a tethering application that allowed users to "tether"
iPhones to notebooks or desktops and function as an Internet modem.
Earlier this month, Apple rejected a BitTorrent application, citing
copyright infringement concerns.

Along with Apple's restrictions, be they influenced by social or lawful
responsibilities, third-party developers will also be grappling with
new application requirements; last week Apple told developers it would
only accept applications if they met compatibility standards for the
upgraded 3.0 software. In an an e-mail to developers Apple said
applications incompatible with iPhone OS 3.0 would be removed from the
App Store.